Topics
AdvancedClitics & Pronoun Placement
How unstressed pronouns attach to verbs in Spanish, English and Chinese.
Compare languages
Spanish has an extensive system of object clitics that attach to or precede verbs. English uses independent pronouns. Chinese uses zero anaphora and independent pronouns.
Overview
Clitics are pronouns that cannot stand alone and must attach to another word (their host). Spanish has a rich system; English and Chinese have none.
- Spanish: Object pronouns are clitics. They attach to finite verbs (proclisis), imperatives/infinitives/gerunds (enclisis), or appear on auxiliary + participle (split). Spanish allows clitic climbing and clitic doubling.
- English: All pronouns are independent words. They never attach to verbs. Word order is fixed: subject-verb-object.
- Chinese: Pronouns are independent words. Often omitted (zero anaphora) when context is clear. No clitic system.
Spanish
Clitic pronoun forms
| Person | Direct object (DO) | Indirect object (IO) | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | me | me | me |
| te | te | te | te |
| lo/la | him/her/it | — | se |
| le | — | him/her | se |
| nos | us | us | nos |
| os | you (pl) | you (pl) | os |
| los/las | them | — | se |
| les | — | them | se |
Position: proclisis (before finite verb)
- Te veo. (I see you.)
- Lo compré. (I bought it.)
- Nos llamaron. (They called us.)
- Se lo di. (I gave it to him/her.)
Position: enclisis (after imperative/infinitive/gerund)
Imperative:
- ¡Dímelo! (Tell me it! — dime + lo)
- ¡Cuéntame! (Tell me!)
- ¡Muéstraselo! (Show it to him!)
Infinitive:
- Quiero verlo. (I want to see it.)
- Voy a decírselo. (I’m going to tell it to him.)
Gerund:
- Estoy leyéndolo. (I’m reading it.)
- Siguí contándome. (He kept telling me.)
Clitic climbing
Clitics can climb from the embedded verb to the matrix verb:
- Quiero lo ver. → Quiero verlo. (I want to see it. — both acceptable)
- Voy a te llamar. → Voy a llamarte. (I’m going to call you.)
Note: Climbing to finite verb is more common in some dialects than others.
Spurious se (se lo for le lo)
When IO le meets DO lo/la/los/las, le becomes se:
- Le di el libro. → Se lo di. (I gave it to him/her.)
- Les di los libros. → Se los di. (I gave them to them.)
This is not reflexive se — it is a phonological accommodation.
Clitic doubling
In many dialects, a clitic doubles a full NP object:
- A Juan lo vi ayer. (Juan, I saw him yesterday.)
- A María le di el libro. (María, I gave her the book.)
- La casa la vendí. (The house, I sold it.)
Required in: Rioplatense Spanish with animate specific objects.
Split clitics (compound tenses)
- Me lo han dado. (They have given it to me. — me + lo before auxiliary)
- Se lo estaba diciendo. (He was telling it to him. — se + lo before auxiliary)
English
Independent pronouns only
English has no clitics. All pronouns are independent words:
- I see him. (NOT I him-see.)
- She called us. (NOT She us-called.)
- Give it to me. (NOT Give-it-to-me.)
Fixed SVO order
English pronouns follow strict word order:
| Position | Example |
|---|---|
| Subject | He sees me. |
| Direct object | I see him. |
| Indirect object | I gave her the book. |
| Object of preposition | I spoke to him. |
No clitic doubling
English never doubles objects with pronouns:
- ✅ I saw John.
- ❌ I saw him John. (ungrammatical)
Pronoun shift (dative shift)
English shifts pronoun objects for rhythm:
- Give the book to John. → Give John the book.
- Give it to me. → Give me it. (awkward) → Give it to me. (preferred)
Chinese
Independent pronouns
Chinese pronouns are always independent words:
- 我看见他了。(I saw him.)
- 她给我一本书。(She gave me a book.)
- 我把它给他了。(I gave it to him.)
Zero anaphora (pronoun omission)
Chinese often omits pronouns entirely:
- 看见了。(Saw [him]. — subject and object omitted)
- 给了。(Gave [it to him]. — multiple omissions)
- 我给了。(I gave [it]. — object omitted)
把 construction (object preposing)
把 moves the object before the verb:
- 我把书给他了。(I gave the book to him.)
- 我把它打破了。(I broke it.)
Note: 把 is not a clitic but an object marker.
被 passive
- 书被他拿走了。(The book was taken away by him.)
No clitic doubling
Chinese does not double objects with pronouns.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronoun type | Clitic (dependent) | Independent word | Independent word |
| Position with finite verb | Before (proclisis) | After verb | After verb / omitted |
| Position with imperative | After (enclisis) | After verb | After verb |
| Clitic climbing | Yes | No | No |
| Clitic doubling | Yes (dialectal) | No | No |
| Spurious se | Yes (le + lo → se lo) | No | No |
| Zero anaphora | Limited | Very limited | Very free |
| Object preposing marker | A (personal a) | Word order only | 把 |
Examples
In Context
| Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|
| Se lo di. / Se lo he dado. | I gave it to him. | 我给他了。 |
| ¡Dime! / ¡Cuéntame! | Tell me! | 告诉我！ |
| Quiero verlo. / Lo quiero ver. | I want to see it. | 我想看。 |
Common mistakes
-
English speakers learning Spanish: Veo lo → Lo veo (clitics precede finite verbs)
-
English speakers learning Spanish: Dime lo for imperative → ¡Dímelo! (enclisis with vowel change)
-
Spanish speakers learning English: I gave it him → I gave it to him (preposition required)
-
Chinese speakers learning Spanish: Omitting clitics entirely: Veo (I see) when meaning I see him → Lo veo
Related topics
- Pronouns: How pronoun systems work
- Direct/Indirect Objects: How objects are structured
- Reflexives: How reflexive clitics work
- Word Order: How position varies across languages
Examples
I see him
Lo veo (clitic preverbal)
See him!
¡Velo! (clitic enclitic)
Give it to me
Dámelo (da + me + lo)
I gave it to her
Se lo di (se + lo + verb)
Pronoun type
Clitic (dependent on host verb)
Position with finite verb
Proclitic (before verb): lo veo
Position with imperative
Enclitic (after verb): ¡dímelo!
Indirect + direct object clitic combination
Me lo, te lo, se lo, nos lo...
Examples
I see him
I see him
See him!
See him!
Give it to me
Give it to me
I gave it to her
I gave it to her
Pronoun type
Independent word
Position with finite verb
After verb: I see him
Position with imperative
After verb: tell me!
Indirect + direct object clitic combination
Independent: give it to me
Examples
I see him
我看见他
See him!
看见他！
Give it to me
给我
I gave it to her
我给她了
Pronoun type
Independent word / zero anaphora
Position with finite verb
After verb or omitted
Position with imperative
After verb: 告诉我！
Indirect + direct object clitic combination
Independent: 给我
Comparison at a glance
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| I see him | Lo veo (clitic preverbal) | I see him | 我看见他 |
| See him! | ¡Velo! (clitic enclitic) | See him! | 看见他！ |
| Give it to me | Dámelo (da + me + lo) | Give it to me | 给我 |
| I gave it to her | Se lo di (se + lo + verb) | I gave it to her | 我给她了 |
| Pronoun type | Clitic (dependent on host verb) | Independent word | Independent word / zero anaphora |
| Position with finite verb | Proclitic (before verb): lo veo | After verb: I see him | After verb or omitted |
| Position with imperative | Enclitic (after verb): ¡dímelo! | After verb: tell me! | After verb: 告诉我！ |
| Indirect + direct object clitic combination | Me lo, te lo, se lo, nos lo... | Independent: give it to me | Independent: 给我 |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| I see him | Lo veo (clitic preverbal) | I see him | 我看见他 |
| See him! | ¡Velo! (clitic enclitic) | See him! | 看见他！ |
| Give it to me | Dámelo (da + me + lo) | Give it to me | 给我 |
| I gave it to her | Se lo di (se + lo + verb) | I gave it to her | 我给她了 |
| Pronoun type | Clitic (dependent on host verb) | Independent word | Independent word / zero anaphora |
| Position with finite verb | Proclitic (before verb): lo veo | After verb: I see him | After verb or omitted |
| Position with imperative | Enclitic (after verb): ¡dímelo! | After verb: tell me! | After verb: 告诉我！ |
| Indirect + direct object clitic combination | Me lo, te lo, se lo, nos lo... | Independent: give it to me | Independent: 给我 |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Examples in context
I see him
Spanish
Lo veo (clitic preverbal)
English
I see him
Chinese
我看见他
See him!
Spanish
¡Velo! (clitic enclitic)
English
See him!
Chinese
看见他！
Give it to me
Spanish
Dámelo (da + me + lo)
English
Give it to me
Chinese
给我
I gave it to her
Spanish
Se lo di (se + lo + verb)
English
I gave it to her
Chinese
我给她了
Pronoun type
Spanish
Clitic (dependent on host verb)
English
Independent word
Chinese
Independent word / zero anaphora
Position with finite verb
Spanish
Proclitic (before verb): lo veo
English
After verb: I see him
Chinese
After verb or omitted
Position with imperative
Spanish
Enclitic (after verb): ¡dímelo!
English
After verb: tell me!
Chinese
After verb: 告诉我！
Indirect + direct object clitic combination
Spanish
Me lo, te lo, se lo, nos lo...
English
Independent: give it to me
Chinese
Independent: 给我
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Key Takeaways
Spanish: Object pronouns are clitics. They attach to finite verbs (proclisis), imperatives/infinitives/gerunds (enclisis), or appear on auxiliary + p.
English: All pronouns are independent words. They never attach to verbs. Word order is fixed: subject-verb-object.
Chinese: Pronouns are independent words. Often omitted (zero anaphora) when context is clear. No clitic system.
Key concepts compared: I see him, See him!, Give it to me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Spanish have clitics while English and Chinese do not?
How does Spanish clitic climbing work, and why is it difficult for English speakers?
What is clitic doubling in Spanish, and why does it confuse learners from English and Chinese?
References
- Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
- The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
- A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981
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Last updated: June 4, 2026